Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (5 page)

She wasn’t a size six, or eight, or whatever size LBDs were meant to flatter. She had too many curves, and they made the dress ride up whenever she moved, so she’d remained firmly planted in her chair for the past hour, tugging and fidgeting to make the tiny piece of fabric cover her essential parts.

Maybe she should have worn something a little less revealing. But then again, if she dressed in her usual faded jeans and whatever shirt she grabbed out of her dresser, she’d never catch anyone’s eye.

Especially Lucky, the thieving bastard she’d come to GR&L to find. If she only knew what he looked like. Or the woman he was with, since she’d heard he’d taken a female partner in for this job.

How did Norris do it? He had a natural talent to easily spot the guilty amongst a crowd. Since Lucky was about as guilty as they came, he should have stuck out like a sore thumb.

When she scanned the room, she only saw partygoers all having a good time. Not one of them looked like they lived the life of a millionaire. Since no one seemed to know what this guy looked like, it made it all that much harder to spot him.

But that was the point. Lucky didn’t want to be found, which made the chase all the more exciting.

Scanning the crowd, her gaze drifted back to a tall, dark, and dangerously handsome man standing at the bar, sipping on his drink and watching everyone else have fun. He didn’t look like he was in the mood for company.

A Gideon.

They all had breathtaking family resemblances, from their dazzling blue eyes to their arrogant square jaw, and on down. Truly amazing. And mouthwatering.

She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. He had on all black, the attire of a single looking to join a couple. Every time he moved his gaze her way, she quickly looked away until she no longer felt the heat from his eyes touching her.

She brought her attention back to the crowd. Most couples had already picked their lucky third party and were now actively engaged in conversation, amongst other things. Sarah thought this would have been the perfect thing to do to not only forget Ryan
,
but to prove to her brother that she could do a job without him looking over her shoulder.

Instead, she sat alone and watched everyone else find their fantasy. It only reminded her of the mistake she’d made by trying to sneak in and finish the job before her brother caught on to her plan of moving in on his score.

“You’ll love the ranch
.
”
Sarah muttered her brother’s words as she stared at her wine. “Sure, Norris. I’m having a bang-up time.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” Carol, a gal Sarah had met through Norris a few months ago, plopped down in the chair opposite Sarah’s. Dressed in black as well, Carol’s LBD actually did its job on her. She looked like she should be at the world premiere of a movie
. She
looked that good.

Sarah let out a breath and smiled through her misery. She tried to ignore the flames licking at her skin as the man at the bar glanced her way once again.

“Having a good time?”

“Fabulous,” Carol exclaimed and widened her brilliant blue eyes. “You should see this guy flirting with me. Dressed in all black from his cowboy hat down to his shit kickers, and these eyes—they’re like the color of the sand of the Sahara right at sunrise. And the way they eat you up when he grins…Ah! Amazing. I’m telling you, he’s got to be the most beautiful man on the planet.”

Sarah darted her gaze back to the man at the bar, dressed the same as Carol’s description. Their eyes met, and instead of pulling away, she held still as he raked that blistering gaze over her face. Oh, wow. She’d never physically reacted from a look before. Cool chills washed over her skin and tightened around her nipples.

“Earth to Sarah. Are you still with me?”

“Sounds like you like him,” she said, recovering quickly by pulling her gaze away from his.

“I’m in love,” she informed her matter-of-factly. “I’ve already picked out our china pattern.”

Of course. From what Sarah knew of her, that was Carol in a nutshell. She fell in love with the man of the week, and God help him. Sarah laughed. “What? No names for all the kids you’ll have?”

Shuddering, Carol then reached over and took a long drink from Sarah’s wine. “Bite your tongue. China is one thing, but kids? That’s a whole area I don’t want to even think about. You know, if you’d get your butt up out of that chair, you just might find yourself having fun.”

She shrugged and took her wine back. She had the perfect view of the entire bar from her seat. Once she spotted Lucky, she’d make her move. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Look at you. You’re like
Baby
stuck in the corner. Come on, Sarah. Come back to my table with me. My future husband has many friends. The Gideon brothers are
,
like
,
related to him somehow.” She wiggled her perfectly painted brows.

“I’ll stay here, thanks.”

Carol lost her smile as she studied her. Sarah hid her eyes and hoped her friend didn’t put two and two together.

“Sarah Kay Emerson, you’d better not be working. You promised Norris you wouldn’t try and find this Loopy on your own.”

“Lucky,” Sarah corrected. When she realized Carol gave her the wrong name on purpose to catch Sarah in her own trap, she hid her gaze as heat slapped her cheeks.

“Sarah, come on. You can’t move in on Norris’
s
scam, or con, or whatever he calls his modern-day Robin Hood role. The family hired
him
, not
you
.”

“But he’s in the middle of another job. I’m just trying to help him out. This guy has put too many families into bankruptcy. He needs to go down.”

“And he will.” Carol grabbed her friend’s hand. “Just as soon as Norris catches him. Leave Lucky to your brother. Just have fun. Please.”

“I will as soon as I find who I’m looking for.” Sarah glanced over Carol’s shoulder and met the gaze of a striking man dressed in all black, his hazel eyes dancing in wicked mischief as he watched her. Carol wasn’t exaggerating—he was stunning, like a statue. He looked remarkably similar to the man at the bar, with the square jaw and massive shoulders. They had to be related.

“I believe your future husband doth approach.” Sarah watched him walk over and released a shudder. Man-oh-man, he got better and better the closer he came.

“Chris Gideon,” he said in a silky smooth voice that washed over her senses like a warm breeze.

Ah, yes. Of course he was a Gideon. They were like Gods, those Gideons. But this one had hazel eyes and caramel-colored hair, and a hard body that commanded the room’s attention. Every last one of thos
e
Gideons had the women in the bar panting, all falling over themselves to pique their interest.

Except Sarah. She couldn’t move in this damn dress. Besides, she’d never be able to sway the affection of a man who looked like an underwear model. Even if she did, she’d never be able to keep it.

None of that mattered anyway. Not one of them so much as gave her a second glance. Obviously Chris had come to pull Carol away.

She adjusted her glasses and swept her medium-length chestnut curls behind her ear. It wasn’t a big shock that the men didn’t notice her.

She looked nothing like what men considered worthy of their time. Her brown eyes were easily forgettable, her chestnut hair recalcitrantly wavy to the point that she had to keep it no longer than her shoulders, and no matter which diet she attempted, the weight she’d lose always came back and brought friends.

Carol, on the other hand, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a body straight out of a porn. Beautifully tan skin, perfect boobs that she made payments on, and an athletic build, Carol was everything Sarah wasn’t.

Being a redhead, she couldn’t tan. If she tried, her freckles took over and made her look like a cheetah. Her dull brown eyes were no match against eyes as blue as Carol’s—even if the blue w
as
the result of colored contacts. Sarah adjusted her glasses again and let out a dejected sigh that deflated her spirit as well as her lungs.

Despite being a size twelve, Sarah barely had B-cups at best. They didn’t bounce like a
Baywatch
beach babe’s, or even qualify as ample. She wouldn’t consider herself too overweight, but she was healthy, and because of that she wouldn’t be gracing the cover of any magazines any time soon.

Forget it. She’d made a huge mistake thinking she had what it took to sway a man’s attention for very long. She should just leave before anyone caught on to why she’d come, especially Lucky. Carol had already caught on. Sarah couldn’t afford anyone else knowing.

It might get back to Norris, and then she’d have all kinds of hell to pay.

“You don’t look like you’re having much fun.”

Slowly she traveled her gaze up his broad body, his shoulders perfectly displayed in a snug T-shirt that showed off his bulging arms. Smiling to hide her reaction to him, she simply shrugged.

“What can we do to change that?”

Send me packing
. Sarah shrugged again and sipped at her wine, wishing it were something stronger like whiskey but unable to get up and make one for fear the dress would ride up and give everyone in the room a nice show of the G-string she’d also purchased for tonight. And regretted. That, too, had started to ride up to places no cloth should go.

“I’m trying to get her to join in,” Carol explained. “But she’s being stubborn. You know, she’s an Emerson. I figured she’d be the first one out there finding her partners.”

“So you’re Norris Emerson’s little sister. My cousins told me to look out for a very special guest here at the ranch this weekend.”

“Sarah,” she corrected, not wanting to use Norris’ status among the ménage community for special treatment. The heat in Sarah’s face expanded to her ears. She’d never be able to live up to the family name. “I came here with Carol.”

Chris lifted his brow and curled the corner of his lips into a whisper of a grin. “Well, I guess I’m in the right place at the right time.”

Sarah widened her eyes. “We aren’t
together
together.”

“Alone, then?”

“Yes.”
And thank you for pointing that out.

“Carol, why don’t you see if the twins are lonely.”

Carol’s entire expression lit up. “With pleasure.”

After Carol jumped up and disappeared into the crowd, Chris took her seat. “Tell me, Sarah Emerson, what brings you out to the ranch? You don’t look like you’re actively looking for partners.”

She couldn’t tell him the truth, but did have a story ready. After all, she did have a family reputation to uphold. “Just looking for a little fun for the weekend.”

He turned and glanced over his magnificent shoulder. “Well, from what I’ve heard, Joey and Greg
are regulars at the ranch. That’s them over there in the corner. They’ve
already pinned their third and…
Wow
. They’re putting on quite a show, I’d say.”

Sarah followed Chris
’s
gaze to two burly men sandwiching a woman in a short leather skirt that barely covered the curve of her ass. Well, it used to barely cover her ass. The dark-haired man behind her had lifted it up, pulled her tiny G-string aside, and knelt down before burying his face between her legs.

Sweet Jesus
. So this was why she had to sign the nondisclosure agreement when she first arrived. The man between her legs really put on quite a show against the woman’s bare pussy. He used his lips. Teeth. Definitely his tongue. The woman panted and moaned into the other man’s mouth as she bunched the material of the man’s shirt in her clenched fists.